Friday, Oct 3rd, 2014

Today we had another full day.  I am really pushing the kids to get a lot done in one hour.  If your child is having a hard time keeping up, please ask them if they are starting right away with the entry routine and the "Do Now".  On top of not getting started right away, I am also noticing a lot of discussion during group work/ independent work time.  I encourage a culture of collaboration and that students discuss the work with each other, so talking during this time is usually ok.  That being said, students need to keep the discussion to the topic in the class and not just socializing.  Today we learned about the respiratory system through a lecture, video, and finally a paper version of the respiratory system that we built in our notebooks on pg 41.  Today's homework is a clock assignment that explains the structure and function of the respiratory system and should be completed on page 40.  I will post examples of student work on Monday, Oct 6th.   Thanks for your hard work today!  I'm looking forward to our heart rate lab on Monday, where we will investigate how the respiratory and the circulatory system are closely connected!

Thursday, Oct 2nd 2014

Wow, what a day.  Today we finished our work with the circulatory system by labeling a diagram of the heart and reading an informational article.  We also learned an amazing active reading strategy called marking the text.  When we mark the text, students are asked to number the paragraphs, circle the key terms, and underline the important information.  What a lot of learning.  Students were assigned a clock assignment that explains how the circulatory system works.  I took pictures of many students work.  These are great examples of how the left side (student diven) and the right side (teacher driven) go together. These are also great examples of what I expect from a clock assignment.  It needs to demonstrate the learning objective for the day, in this case, that you can explain how the circulatory system works.  Many clock assignments below also demonstrate using color in a meaningful way, which has created a lot of confusion.  Remember-it should me color with purpose, not color just for fun!   Many students are also showcasing their creativity and unique learning styles.  We have artists, musicians, writers, and most importantly, LEARNING!!!  Thank you so much for your hard work, I am so impressed!

This student chose the clock assignment "Write a letter to ____________" explain what you learned.  They also used color in a meaningful way by coloring each vocab word a specific color across both the left and right hand pages.  Way to go Abbie!

 Another wonderful example, this concept map even shows how the blood flows through the circulatory system with the arteries taking blood away from the heart, moving to the capillaries, then to the veins, and back to the heart.  Great job.  On top of that, you color coded the vocabulary words too! 

Wednesday, Oct 1st, 2014

This was a very busy day, with all of our work being completed with the new chromebooks that we have in science this year!!  First students need to log on to classroom.google.com with their @isd728.org school email and read the days announcement.  Include in the announcement is a link to a google document that describes in detail how to complete the digestion lab write up in your notebook.  Next, students used socrative.com to take a check in digestive system quiz.  This is an online tool that helps both the students and I learn how much they are learning.  Today the quiz was set up to give students immediate feedback, showing them if they answered correctly, or what the correct answer should have been.  I am working on learning how to make these type of quizzes available for students to practice at any time to help them study from home.  I will let you know as soon as I figure it out!  Last students started their work on the circulatory system by creating vocabulary notecards in their notebook and filling in the definitions using a multimedia resource about the circulatory system at www.studyjams.com.  What a full day.  Below are pictures of the vocabulary cards that students completed!  Thanks to the students who let me take a picture of your work!

Tuesday, Sept 30th, 2014-Digestive System Lab

Today we experienced how the digestive system worked with the digestive system lab.  We will finish the write up for this lab on Wednesday.  If you were absent for the lab, I will offer a make up during academic edge or another alternative assignment, that is to be determined.  We had tons of fun!